Steven A Bush

Steven Bush (he/him/his) joined the School of Social Work in the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics as an assistant teaching professor in Spring 2023. He brings a passion for teaching and mentoring and uses a strength-based approach to help his students develop their professional skills and identity as future social workers. He teaches classes in Social Work Practice, Diversity, and Social Work Policy.

Prior to joining Syracuse University as a part-time internship coordinator in Fall 2022, Bush was a clinical assistant professor within the University of Southern California’s School of Social Work. Over the last 17 years he has also taught as a part-time lecturer within the Schools of Social Work at both California State University, Fullerton and at California State University, Long Beach.

The focus of Bush’s doctoral dissertation was “Engaging Military Veterans in Synchronous Online Learning,” where he conducted a qualitative study to gain a deeper understanding of how U.S. military veterans perceive the influence of military culture on their engagement in a synchronous virtual higher education learning environment.

Bush attributes the foundation of his professional growth to the eight years he worked at Boy’s Republic in Chino Hills, California. Working with youth on probation, he developed an expertise in facilitating both psychoeducational and therapeutic groups while working with adolescents and their families. In 1995, Bush joined Family Solutions, Inc., the second-largest group home provider for abused and neglected children in Orange County, California. As director of residential services, he oversaw the programmatic operations of 13 six-bed group homes and was instrumental in the organization’s rise in becoming a leading provider of group home services in Southern California. Bush then worked as the program director for Pacific Clinics Consumer Training Program, gaining expertise in training and mentoring individuals with severe and persistent mental illness.

In 2011, Bush received the Jane Addams Faculty Award, an honor graduating University of Southern California MSW students bestow on a faculty member for superior academic, administrative, and moral support. In 2011 he also received a Senate Certificate of Recognition from Sen. Lou Correa for his service to the mental health community in Orange County, California. Bush is a member of several professional organizations, including the Council for Social Work Education (CSWE), the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), and the Network for Social Work Management (NSWM).